


Beauty's Beholder

by ID_Locke



Category: Original Work
Genre: Amputation, M/M, Original Alien Species - Freeform, The Dream Time World, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 17:20:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19480522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ID_Locke/pseuds/ID_Locke
Summary: Giedre has been having nightmares of his past and realizes that he needs to confront that past in order to move on. He shares what he went through with his lover, Valen, knowing the nightmares will be stopped once Valen knows what they are. From there revenge on the one who tortured Giedre is only a short distance away and it most definitely is sweet.





	Beauty's Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-shot to give some background (and closure) to two minor characters from my novel, Dreaming Of The Void. You don't have to read that in order to know what's going on here as it's fairly self-contained. This story takes place in my Dream Time World, which is set in the future in another galaxy.
> 
> Awh'anise Shal-hazal can enter the dreams of others and are a highly specialized part of the military. You don't choose to be Shal-hazal, you're born that way and cannot refuse to be a Shal-hazal (insanity and death result if someone tries to not be what they were born to be). Shal-hazal make up roughly 1% of the population.
> 
> Teichle are a sub-group of Laiokians that are sending and receiving empaths. They are hated and feared by non-Teichle and Teichle babies are frequently killed by their family with many seeing it as their duty to kill Teichle. Little, if any, punishment is handed out to anyone killing or hurting a Teichle. Teichle make up roughly 1% of the population.

Beauty’s Beholder

~Geirde~

I struggled to open my eyes, a scream stuck in my throat as I clawed my way out of the nightmare chasing me. My heart hammered in my chest, and my hair was wrapped tight around my body, probably increasing my terror of being chained down helplessly as I was in the dream. I groped for the light beside the bed with a shaking hand and felt only marginally better when warm light flooded the bedroom I shared with Valen instead of the room from my past. I sat up and leaned against the headboard, my knees hugged tight to my chest and my breath still coming in fast, choppy pants as I tried to calm down and mentally chanted over and over that it was only a dream and couldn’t hurt me.

Six years since the last time I’d been in that room of horrors, and I still had terrifyingly real dreams of what I’d gone through. I didn’t understand why I dreamed of that time since it was something I’d dearly love to forget ever happened. But I hadn’t forgotten a single thing that happened to me back then, nor would I ever. Even if, by some remote stretch of the imagination, I started to forget what those months had been like, all I needed to do was look in a mirror to be vividly reminded. Tears trickled down my face, and I rested my forehead on my knees.

I needed Valen, and I felt like the most useless person on the planet because I couldn’t get over what happened half a dozen years ago even though I knew with absolute certainty that what I’d gone through would never be repeated and that I was as safe as a person could get now. I was an adult, damn it, not a scared kid anymore, and I was literally worlds away from the person who caused the intense nightmares I still suffered from. I sniffed and felt utterly pathetic because I needed Valen to hold me and murmur soft words of comfort and just make me feel safe. He didn’t know what I dreamed of that nearly made me wet myself in fear because I wouldn’t let him know.

I wasn’t going to sleep for the rest of the night. I’d learned the hard way that if I tried to rest, the dream would happen all over again or even pick up right where it left off. If Valen was with me, I could go back to sleep and not dream the horrible things again, but Valen was away on a mission, and I didn’t expect him back for several days. I could call him on the secure channel, but I wasn’t about to worry him or distract him while he was on a job. That could be deadly for him, and there was absolutely no way in hell I’d do anything to jeopardize his safety. I loved him too much to do that.

Valen would also know something was wrong the second he saw me. I smiled weakly. I was the empath in our relationship, but he was uncanny in reading my emotions even when I tried to hide my upset or, the rare times it happened, my anger. I sighed, sniffed again and wiped the tears off my cheeks. Things like this couldn’t continue to happen, and the dreams were starting to happen more frequently for some reason. I needed to find the courage to tell Valen what I’d gone through. I knew it bothered him that I kept something so life changing from him, but I didn’t want him to pity me. Deep down I knew that was stupid, but I couldn’t seem to help feeling like he’d view me differently if he knew everything.

I didn’t want to relive the horror of that time in my waking life, but I was doing it more and more frequently in my sleep, and that was upsetting not only me but Valen, too. I’d made him promise not to go poking around in my dreams to find out what chilled me to my very soul, and to the best of my knowledge, he’d kept that promise. He was extremely unhappy about not going into those nightmares to fix it for me, but he held back because he loved me.

He was extremely protective of me though, and he was going to be livid when he found out why I dreamed what I did. A Litch wanting revenge for a wrong done to their Teichle was fiercesome to behold. I wasn’t even sure how I’d feel if he did go get revenge for me. I probably should hate Isooba for what she did, but I couldn’t quite make myself do it. I had a hundred reasons why I should but only one not to, yet that one reason kept me from wanting her dead.

I sighed and uncurled from the bed, moving to the small couch at the opposite side of the room. I turned on the vid screen and flicked through the channels until I found one playing an Awh’anise drama I enjoyed. I settled back and pulled the throw off the arm, wrapping myself in the soft blanket that faintly held Valen’s scent. It was only a few more days until he was home. I could survive until then.

*****

Valen held me tight as we sat on our little couch, his purr deep and comforting. He knew something was wrong just as I knew he’d know. He said nothing though and just held me, stroking a hand gently over my hair and body. He knew that I’d eventually tell him what the problem was. He simply needed to be patient. For someone who shared headspace with several people who often urged rash action, he could be extremely patient, especially when it came to me, something I was eternally grateful for.

“I have something important to tell you,” I said in a low voice. “About how I came to be this way.”

“You don’t need to tell me anything, shay-shon,” Valen said with a soft kiss to my forehead.

“Yes, I do. I know you’re curious and that it upsets you to see me so... broken, but that’s not the reason. I’m still having nightmares about what happened and... and they’re not going away, and I don’t think they will until I share what I went through with someone. I’ve never told anyone what happened to me aside from some generalities that were pretty obvious given my injuries. Not even the scientists at the facility could get me to talk about it, and believe me, they tried in some rather unpleasant ways.”

Valen growled low in his throat, and his hold on me tightened painfully before he relaxed his grip. I pushed a little out of his arms even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. Valen didn’t want to let me go and only did when I continued to push away. I turned so I could face him, and he took my hands in his. I could easily feel his love and support, and while it was still one of the hardest things to open my mouth and start talking about how I became the mangled person I now was, he made it easier because he loved me.

“You’ve seen my injuries. It wasn’t an accident that caused them. You know Teichle are hated and feared on Laiok. What happened to me was a result of that hate and fear. I want you to promise me that you won’t go off to kill the one who did this to me.”

Valen opened his mouth and then closed it. He sighed and frowned, his fingers tightening over mine. 

“I can’t promise that, Giedre. I knew you hadn’t been in an accident. The scars on your body are too deliberate and precise for it to have been accidental. I was never sure if the person who did this to you lived, but from your words just now, they do. To have hurt you, taken from you what they did, I’m not going to make you a promise I probably won’t be able to keep. I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what you tell me at all, and from what I know of the way Laiokians view Teichle, I’m taking a stab in the dark and saying that probably nothing happened to the one who hurt you. 

“I want to know what you went through to better understand you. I want to stop your nightmares for good, but I can’t do that if I don’t know the whole story. I want you to be safe and happy whether you’re asleep or awake. But if my promising not to do anything with what you tell me is the price for knowing, then I can’t pay it, Giedre. I’m sorry.”

I bit my lip and looked down at our joined hands. I knew that was what he was going to say. Puns aside, Litches were crazy protective and obsessive over their Teichle. I knew that the dreams weren’t going to go away on their own, and I literally had the best person in the entire galaxy to keep them away sitting right next to me holding my hands. Deep down I was a little angry— maybe more than a little if I was entirely honest—that Isooba never had to pay for what she’d done to me. Maybe that’s why the dreams were happening more frequently now that I felt safe and cared for. Perhaps my mind was trying to tell me that I didn’t need to be afraid anymore and could do something about the injustice I’d suffered. I drew in a deep breath and began to speak.

“My twin and I were late life babies for our parents. I have a sister and brother who are ten years older than me. Shymeid and I were unplanned, but at first, we were welcomed. Then I showed myself to be Teichle and everything changed. My father demanded that I be given to the facility. My mother refused to do it. He tried to smother me one day, but my mother managed to stop him. She threw him out of the house, and he filed divorce papers the next day. He got custody of my older siblings, Isooba and Dumas, and tried to get Shymeid. The judge decided that it would be in Shymeid’s best interest to stay with me and our mother since the twin bond is generally very strong.

“My father was very angry that I existed. Because of me, he could never have more children and finding a partner likely became something of a challenge. Laiokian’s treat having a Teichle in your immediate family as something like having an STD. It’s very shameful, and the parent of a Teichle is sometimes even seen as unclean. You’re required to tell potential partners about having a Teichle child, and if you don’t, you can actually face up to a year in jail. 

“I think he spread his hate to Isooba and Dumas and encouraged them to nurture it. My father died when I was nine by an overdose. Shymeid and I had very little contact with Isooba and Dumas while they lived with our father. They were basically strangers who were related to us as far as me and Shymeid were concerned. I know I was blessed to have at least one parent who loved me. Shymeid loved me, too. The rest of the world hated me, but I accepted that because I had two people who did love me unconditionally. 

“When I was fourteen, Dumas won an award for his work in a very prestigious lab. He wanted our mother to come to the ceremony. She was very proud of him and his accomplishments, and while she didn’t like the open hate he had for me, he was her child, too. Isooba couldn’t go as she was working on a station orbiting a planet away from Laiok and couldn’t get the time off. The high speed train they were on derailed. Our mother was killed in the accident. Dumas survived but was in a coma from his injuries. Isooba was the only immediate relative we had so she was appointed temporary guardian of me and Shymeid. She was fine with Shymeid but hated that she had to be my guardian as well. After months healing from his injuries, Dumas still wasn’t waking up and the doctors declared him to be in a permanent vegetative state despite their best efforts. Isooba was crushed with grief. The courts made her the permanent guardian of me and Shymeid since there was nobody else who wanted the task and she’d already been doing it for several months. 

“She had to give up a much sought after position in her field to be our guardian, and she let me know that it was all my fault. The station she was posted to wouldn’t allow a Teichle on it. Isooba tried to put me in the government facility so she could keep her job but I was fourteen and my consent was needed by then to ship me off to the facility. She was... enraged when I refused to go. Things were very tense in our house for several weeks and I tried to stay out of her way. Then, one day I woke up in a dark room I’d never been in before. I was naked and chained to the cold floor. I yelled and screamed for help for what seemed like forever, but nobody came. I was terrified. Isooba finally showed up and said that I was going to pay for ruining her family, her job and her life. I didn’t understand what she meant. I hadn’t ruined anything as far as I knew. She had gotten another job and was already working her way up the corporate ladder. Isooba viewed things very differently.”

I stopped speaking and swallowed hard. Phantom pain flared white hot in my missing fingers, and I clutched Valen’s hand harder. I felt his emotions start to shift into violence and automatically smoothed the edges of that and calmed him with the undulating tones all Awh’anise loved to hear. If hearing just this little was riling him up, it was going to get so much worse from this point on.

“Isooba said I’d taken two very important people from her, our father and her twin Dumas. I’ve no idea why, but she blamed me for our father overdosing on pills. I was also apparently to blame for Dumas being all but dead in her mind. She pulled out a pair of pruning shears and cut off my fingers one at a time and then cauterized the wound with fire. I could do nothing to stop her. I was chained to the floor and couldn’t move more than a few inches. She even bound my hair. Since a Teichle can’t manipulate the emotions of a sibling, whether they’re a twin or not, I couldn’t even try that to stop her.

“Up until that point, I’d never felt anything so painful in my life. After my time with her in that room... I realized there were degrees and types of pain that covered a wide spectrum of experiences. She left me alone in the dark in agony for what seemed like forever but was probably only a day or two. When she came back, she had simple food and water, and I realized then that she meant to keep me alive and torture me as long as she could before she killed me. I knew I was going to die at her hands.

“Her next session with me was how I got the majority of my scars. She cut me all over, deep enough for stitches in most places while telling me how much she hated me and wanted me dead. Some cuts she sewed up slowly and carefully, which was a special pain, but far better than the ones she used fire or heated metal on to stop the bleeding. Like before, she let me recover somewhat before she started on her new round of torture. Cutting me hadn’t been enough punishment she said because the pain didn’t last long enough. A few hours or a day or two at best from those wounds wasn’t enough compared to the pain she felt every day with Dumas in a coma. She beat me with a metal pipe. She broke my knee, my arm and several ribs. The final blow was to my head. Doctors say that likely caused the nerve damage that partially paralysed my face. I really thought I was going to die that time and maybe she did, too, and she wasn’t ready for that to happen just yet.

“It was a good bit of time, maybe as long as two or three weeks before she hurt me seriously again. I don’t know what she used, but she is a chemist so she probably concocted something that temporarily paralysed me but still left me able to feel. That’s when she cut my hair. It was even more painful than when she took my fingers. I’m sure that went on for hours because she was taking her time doing it. She said she was cutting my hair the same way the medics had to cut Dumas’ hair to get him out of the wreckage of the train. She wanted me to suffer like Dumas had even though he’d been unconscious when he was cut from the wreckage.”

Valen pulled his hands from mine and grabbed me tight to his chest. His emotions were one giant seething mass of rage, and I was struggling hard to keep him from rampaging. When Isooba had me captive, I’d thought that I’d never felt anger so intense, but it paled in comparison to what stormed through Valen now. His fury was focusing into a narrow beam, all directed at Isooba. As angry as Valen was, he needed to hear the rest of it. I pushed firmly out of his arms so I could watch his face as I told him the rest.

“Isooba wasn’t done with me though. As you know, if you have a Teichle in your immediate family, you’re barred from reproducing. Isooba wanted children, but because of me, she’d never be able to have her own, which I’m of the opinion now, is a good thing. Her next visit was when she removed one of my balls. That was... that was both a psychological and physical pain that was extremely hard to handle. I begged her to just kill me then. She laughed and said that over the course of the next few weeks, she was going to make sure I understood the pain of never being able to have a family of my own because of somebody else. She said that she was going to take my other ball and then my cock. She said almost nobody wanted me as a Teichle, but once she was finished with me, if I lived and if she was feeling generous, she’d release me. She said there wouldn’t be a person alive who’d want the ugly, sexless thing she was going to turn me into.”

I swallowed hard and fought against the tears prickling my eyes. I still didn’t know why Valen thought I was beautiful and desirable when I really wasn’t. I was scarred and ugly and broken in a way I wasn’t sure was fixable. But his emotions couldn’t lie, and he thought I was beautiful and desirable and loved me despite how I looked. He was a gift that I didn’t deserve but could never give up.

“I was nearly out of my mind with terror when Isooba showed up what was probably a few weeks later with surgical tools and a truly frightful amount of anticipation in her emotions. I knew exactly what she planned to do to me that day. She was going to take my other ball and maybe my dick, too. I begged and pleaded for her to just kill me. Out of nowhere, Shymeid jumped on her back and started hitting her and screaming at her. They fought, and Isooba managed to push him away from her. He tripped and fell down the stairs. He broke his neck. It didn’t kill him but turned him into a quadriplegic. 

“Shymeid had followed Isooba because he didn’t believe her story that I’d gone to the facility on my own. He knew I’d have never done that, not even to keep peace in the house. He’d called the police when he saw me chained to the floor and what she’d done to me. Then he attacked her before she could do anything else to me. The police showed up and set me free although it was clear to me that they didn’t want to. I needed to manipulate their emotions to get them to release me instead of just beating my head in and killing me like they wanted to and saying Isooba had done it.

“Isooba was arrested for her attack on Shymeid and jailed for a year for what she had done to him. She was never charged for what she did to me even though I told the police, in general, what she did and my injuries were proof of what I’d been through. Shymeid was put in a care home, and I was sent to the facility since there was nobody left who wanted to be my guardian. The scientists at the facility didn’t bother to try and fix any of the damage done to me as they considered it ‘cosmetic’ and it didn’t impact my normal daily functions to an appreciable degree. Isooba served her time and is a free woman. Dumas is still in the vegetative state and Isooba probably still visits him every day. Shymeid died at seventeen from an infection.”

Valen pulled me back into his arms and hugged me so hard it was difficult to breathe. Sorrow, anger and comfort rolled through him. I felt emotionally exhausted from telling him what I’d lived through, but at the same time, I felt like it wasn’t quite the heavy weight on my soul that it usually was after sharing what I went through with him.

“You know that I’m going to make her suffer in the most horrible, terrifying way that I can before I kill her, right?” Valen asked in a low, angry voice.

“I didn’t tell you so you could go exact revenge for me,” I said even as a small part of me cheered at the idea of Isooba finally paying for what she did to me.

“Yeah, I know why you told me, and I’m glad you finally shared what you went through with me. She’s still going to die a terrifying death. I’m definitely going to fix it for you so you stop dreaming of that time in a way that scares you so bad. You’ll still dream of what happened sometimes, but it’ll be like watching a movie for you, and I’ll make it so you can kinda change the channel and dream of something else.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. That would be stellar. To never dream of it again would be even better, but to do that, Valen would need to actually steal my memory of that time, and that was a tricky thing to do that almost always didn’t work out well for the one having their memory stolen. I’d asked Spirit Will Moswen about making me unable to remember that period in my life. He was probably the best Spirit there was and they did stuff like that all the time, but he’d said that while he could do something to hide the memories from me, I’d end up eventually digging them up because of what I’d see in the mirror every day.

I’d even asked Dakvir if he’d be able to create a void in my memory of that time, but that was beyond his scope of power. He could erase small pockets of time from a person’s memory, but it had to be very recent and no more than a six hour span, or he ran the risk of erasing more than just a few hours from a person.

I’d gone to Awh’anise doctors and Shal-hazal Healers to see what could be done about the scars on my body, my missing fingers, damaged knee and facial paralysis. I knew there was nothing to be done about my hair and I’d just have to be patient for that to grow back on its own. The Awh’anise didn’t understand why I wanted the scars removed as they saw them as badges of honour but said that it could be done to a degree. I would have had to decide if the pain of multiple surgeries was worth that for something that wouldn’t completely eliminate all my scars.

My missing fingers were gone for good although there were some very life-like prosthetics that I could wear. I declined that as I was used to doing without, and after wearing some prosthetic fingers as a trial for two weeks, I found that they got in the way more than they were worth the cosmetic boost. I could have had a prosthetic testicle inserted but decided against that as well since the only one who’d see that part of me was Valen and he didn’t care that I was missing a ball. Truthfully, it didn’t impact our sex life at all, so I didn’t even consider getting the operation for that. I did have my badly healed knee repaired though. I could now walk without much of a limp and had normal motion, but it still pained me terribly during the rainy season of Awh’an. The facial paralysis was something that couldn’t be fixed, but I’d come to terms with that.

“Do you want to confront her? I can take you to her dreams, and you can do whatever, say whatever you want before I get going on her. It might be therapeutic for you. It would probably piss her off big time, too, to know that her stupid, psychotic plan failed. You’re not ugly, and you’re most definitely not sexless. Stars, you give my ass one hell of a work out most of the time, and when you’re not doing me, you’re demanding I do you until we’re so exhausted, we can’t even move. Not that I’m complaining. I think that’s just awesome. You’re the sexiest, most beautiful person in the world, no, the entire universe and I love you so much that my heart sometimes hurts because it’s so full of love for you.”

I hugged Valen tight and resisted the urge to burst into tears at his sincere and heartfelt words. I never doubted how much he loved me. One of the best things about being Teichle was being able to actually experience the feelings of love from someone. It was one thing to hear somebody say they loved you. It was an entirely new level of joy to have an understanding of someone’s feelings like they were your own emotions.

“I love you, too. So much, I sometimes think this is a dream and that I’ll wake up one day to find that it wasn’t real. That would hurt worse than anything that Isooba did to me,” I said into his throat as I held onto him like somebody was trying to pull him away from me.

“What we have is as real as it gets, Giedre,” Valen said in a firm voice. “I’ve wanted to ask you this for a really long time, like almost from the moment you said you were choosing me to be your Litch, but I wasn’t sure how you’d react, so I’ve tried to be patient and wait until I thought you’d be okay with it. I don’t want to wait any more. I love you more than anything, Giedre. I would be the happiest person on the planet if you’d let me be your shu’anad. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I’m very, very sure this is what I want to do. I need to do this. I’m kinda sad that we’re not Lor’fei, but I don’t need that to tell me that you’re the most perfect person ever created for me.”

I lifted my head from Valen’s shoulder and stared at him in surprise. To declare one’s self shu’anad was a big deal for the Awh’anise and never done lightly. Even though I was an empath, I couldn’t read minds, and I’d never have guessed that was what Valen wanted between us. I was thrilled to the very tips of my ragged hair that he wanted to have that level of commitment between us.

“I’d be honoured to be your shu’anad, Valen. I wish that I could do the same for you. I mean, I could wear braids in my hair for you when we’re out around others as long as it’s not more than say four or five hours. I’m pretty sure I could handle it being bound for that long.”

Valen shook his head. “No. I don’t want you in pain for me. Just you offering to do it is more than enough for me. Would you make the braids for me?”

I nodded and was rewarded with a happy smile and a sense of euphoria from Valen. I kissed him and began combing my fingers through his hair. I could do a simple pair of braids, and I knew he’d be perfectly happy with that, but I wanted to give him something a little more distinctive. I was limited to the thickness of the braids but I could still do something a little bit fancy for him. Valen’s eyes slide closed, and a soft purr started up in his chest at the soothing motion of my fingers through his hair. As I thought and gently combed through his hair, an idea bloomed to life in my head, and I smiled. I got up from the couch and padded over to the dresser where I kept a small box of trinkets.

Valen collected small, unusual objects for me after finding out, much to my embarrassment, that I liked bright, shiny things. They had no monetary value that I knew about, but they were priceless in my eyes because Valen had given them to me. I brought the box back to the couch and smiled at the questioning look Valen gave me. I sat back down and opened the box, looking for a few specific pieces.

Valen said nothing but watched me curiously as I chose and discarded several pieces. When I had what I thought was right, I carefully set aside the box on the floor and went to work on the braids. A piece of green glass worn smooth and slick from one of the oceans went in first. A red stone with a hole through it found along the bank of a river was next. A tiny bronze-coloured gear was woven in next followed by a thin ribbon of flexible metal that was incredibly strong and a deep violet shade. I tied the braid off and went to work on the other one. That braid had a tiny hardened, pale golden spear from a highly toxic native Awh’anise plant, a light blue coloured tooth from a tiny but deadly bird, an oval of petrified orange sap from an equally deadly tree, and if Valen was to be believed, a light pink penile bone from a small animal were also added to that braid. I tied the second braid off and eyed my work critically, nodding in satisfaction at the look.

“You’re done?” Valen asked as he lightly fingered the braids.

“Yes. I hope you like them. I can re-do them as just plain braids if you want,” I said a little nervously.

Valen left the couch to look in the mirror at what I’d done. He touched the braids, running his fingers over the trinkets gently. His emotions surged and slammed into me, overwhelming love coming from him. He whirled and pounced on me, kissing me hard while pinning me to the couch. I kissed him back and wriggled against him, enjoying the way he could physically dominate me with his larger size and weight. While I really enjoyed having Valen’s firm ass, there was nothing quite so thrilling as having him turning possessive, aggressive, aroused and about to lose control of himself. I was going to get my ass pearled in the next few minutes, and I utterly loved that even if it weirded out Valen a little that I could then read his mind for a brief period because of the Sliaru.

Valen reared back on his knees and shredded the light pants I was wearing, little growls of possession coming from him. Our arousals surged at the move. He grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked it open, buttons flying and scattering from the violent move, his lust edging higher and making mine rise as well. He stared at me for several long seconds before he traced gentle fingers over the scars that criss-crossed my body despite the heavy need I could feel from him to roughly dominate me.

“So very beautiful and all mine,” Valen said in a husky voice.

“For as long as you want me,” I replied softly.

Valen took my hand and kissed the scars where my fingers used to be. “Forever. I want you forever.”

Warmth spread through me, and I pulled Valen down for a deep, heart-felt kiss. I was extremely blessed to have his love. When it was just us, I let my personal shields down and wallowed in all the glorious feelings he had for me. I projected what I felt onto him, too. I wasn’t changing anything about how he felt or forcing him to feel things he didn’t already feel. I was simply sharing with him how happy, special and loved he made me feel. There were times when being a Teichle was more a gift than the curse it usually was. 

Valen groaned softly into my mouth and fumbled to push the front panel of his pants out of the way. Awh’anise clothing was all about easy access, and my heart jumped in excitement at the rough and hurried movements of Valen. I adored the fact that while he was extremely protective of me and, more often than not, very gentle, he never acted like I was fragile glass ready to break at the slightest mishandling. A tiny shiver worked over Valen, and my lips pulled up on one side of my face into a smile. The pearls were appearing and with them, Sliaru. 

Valen broke the kiss and stood. He grabbed me around the waist and dragged me off the couch to the soft, plush rug on the floor. After several encounters on the hard, cold stone floor, I’d insisted we get a thick rug to make it more comfortable for our little trysts. Valen said that he wasn’t bothered by the coldness or hardness of the stone floor against his knees or back, but I appreciated a little softness for my knees when I was thrusting into him. This was the first time I was in a position to enjoy the lushness of the rug against my back, and I was glad I’d insisted on us buying it. I twisted to get the remnants of my clothes off, wanting to feel the soft fur of the rug against my bare skin. A purr of approval rumbled through Valen’s chest at seeing me spread out, naked on the gold-green fur.

“Stars, you look amazing. Did you know you’d look this stunning laying against a rug this colour? It’s like the gold-green of the fur highlights your purple skin and hair. I’m glad you prefer to wear white and light grey. If anyone saw you dressed in colours like the rug, they wouldn’t be able to keep their hands to themselves.”

I laughed and pulled Valen into another kiss. He was the only one who thought I was beautiful. Other Awh’anise appreciated the scars as honour marks from a terrible battle, but they didn’t feel I was beautiful. Not like Valen did. Then again, Valen’s opinion was the only one that mattered to me.

Valen knelt between my spread thighs and lightly ran his hands over my skin. My colour shifted subtly into a darker purple, arousal intensifying my normal medium purple shade. Valen grinned, knowing the colour change for what it was as well as being able to scent my arousal, and leaned down, his breath warm over my groin for a few seconds as he slowly breathed in and out, pulling the musky scent of my lust into his nose. I groaned softly as his tongue flicked out and he licked my sack. I was missing a ball, but there was plenty of sensation happening from Valen’s tender tongue bath. He broadened the area of licks and gentle nips to include my cock, and my hips were soon undulating, wordlessly encouraging him to do more than just tease me.

My hips surged up when Valen closed his lips over the head of my cock and started bobbing his head up and down. He loved to suck my cock and loved it even more when he could bring me right to the point of orgasm but keep me from achieving it. He said it made my come sweeter the longer he could keep me from blowing my load. I thought he just liked to tease me until I was desperate for release and went all rough and demanding on his ass.

My hair slithered over Valen where it could reach him. It was longer than when we first met but once Laiokians were past puberty, the growth rate of our hair slowed to barely two inches a year. It would probably be decades before it was back to normal length for somebody my age. I stroked Valen’s skin, feeling the warmth and strength of him through my hair. He started purring again, and that made me laugh softly and squirm at the pleasant vibrations against my cock when he took me deep into his throat. 

Valen sucked me for a lot less than I was used to and I stared at him, a question plain in my eyes. “I don’t feel like playing around right now,” he said with a shrug and a grin. “I’ll suck you more or whatever after I’ve had your ass. I’ll need to work the Sliaru out of you then.”

Valen had somehow shed his pants without my noticing while he blew me. He rubbed his cock in the crack of my ass, the Sliaru slicking me better than any lube we’d ever tried. He teased the head of his cock over my hole, pushing it a little into me before stopping and rubbing the length of his dick against my crack again.

“Valen,” I said with a touch of a whine in my voice. “I thought you said you didn’t feel like playing around right now. I want you.”

Valen’s grin was almost feral. “Wait for it....”

Wait for what? I opened my mouth to demand he fuck me when the Sliaru slammed into me. I gasped at the double sensation of not only feeling Valen’s emotions so intently but of also actually hearing his mental voice in my head. I stopped breathing for several seconds in shock and overwhelming pleasure as Valen thrust into me, balls deep, and swooped down to kiss me fiercely in one move. I felt so connected to Valen in that instant it was spiritual.

I also had a stunning moment of pure clarity as I was wrapped so intimately in Valen. I knew with rock-solid certainty what I needed to do for me and for us. I reached up to my temple on the side of my head that still had ankle-length strands, wrapped some hair around one of my fingers and yanked hard, pulling out dozens of strands by the roots. My eyes watered at the intense pain, and my yell was swallowed by Valen’s mouth on mine. His emotions and thoughts registered shock, and he broke the kiss to stare at me, utterly confused at what I’d just done. I brought the strands to his left shoulder without touching him and smiled at him, a feeling of incredible rightness flowing through me.

“Will you wear my ceitai risdepa, Valen?” I knew he’d say yes, but I needed to formally ask anyway.

Valen was dumfounded by what I’d done. The pupils of his eyes were blown wide in a combination of lust and pleased surprised. A giant wave of love and gratitude crashed into me from Valen. I leered at him when his cock surged inside me. He opened and closed his mouth several times before he could pull himself together to speak.

“Fuck, yeah. But you didn’t have to do that, Giedre. That had to have hurt like hell.”

“I’ve had worse, and this is a pain I’ll gladly suffer for you over and over again. I love you, Valen. Thank you for the honour of wearing my risdepa.”

I brought the strands to his left shoulder and felt immense satisfaction as the bloody roots burrowed into his skin, seeking his veins, becoming a part of him. My hand dropped away and the strands slithered and twisted over his arm down to his wrist, weaving themselves into a complex pattern that was unique to me. They settled against his skin in under a minute, and I smiled at the wonder and pride in his mental voice.

“We truly belong to each other now, right?” Valen asked mentally.

I nodded. “As long as you wear my risdepa, you’re mine and I’m yours.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic. I swear to all the gods above and below, you’ll never regret doing this,” Valen said as he kissed me deeply and started thrusting hard and fast into me making my breath catch in pure pleasure from not only the sensation of having my ass pearled but from the overwhelming love coming from Valen.

“I could never regret loving you, Valen.” I said as I wrapped my arms, legs and hair around him, thrilled by the way he made me feel emotionally cherished and physically desired.

Valen couldn’t move much with the way I held him so tightly, but neither of us cared. He rocked against me, my hard cock pressed tightly between our bellies, the friction delicious and arousing. His emotions were the most beautiful thing I’d ever felt, and I wallowed in the pleasure of them. I loved the feel of being not only intimately physically connected to Valen but sharing his actual thoughts as well. I wished that he was able to share mine so he could know just how much I loved him, but that wasn’t how Sliaru worked on us Teichle.

“Come for me my beautiful shu’anad,” Valen demanded as he brushed his fingers gently over my face.

I let go of the thin thread of control I’d been clinging to and arched into Valen, a deep, satisfied moan leaving my throat as my cock started spurting between us. Valen growled low and bit my shoulder, his mental voice shouting “Mine” seconds before I felt his cock throb as he shot his seed deep inside me. Lush feelings of love and possession flowed back and forth between us making me feel like I was drowning in affection. I tried to stop Valen from pulling away and out of my body even as I knew the reason he was doing it.

My cock was still erect despite coming hard just moments ago. I needed to come again with a pressure that almost bordered on painful because of the Sliaru in my system. It was a sweet pain though, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Valen moved forward and instead of taking my spunk covered cock into his mouth as he usually did after pearling me; he surprised me by positioning my cock against his hole and sliding smoothly down to sit in my lap. I grinned when I saw that he was still hard, too. Sliaru was truly amazing stuff.

“Stars, but your eyes are so damn beautiful when you’re under the influence of Sliaru. They’re just like that wing from the bug I gave you with all those geometric metallic shapes that shine in a million shades of purple. Have I told you lately how much I love getting fucked by you, especially when you’re looking at me with those gorgeous eyes of yours?” Valen asked as he started to ride my cock his dick bouncing gently with the motion.

I reached up for the braids I’d recently put into his hair and tugged him down until his lips were almost touching mine. I flicked my tongue over his lips in a move I knew he adored before kissing him deeply and letting go. I pushed him up, slid my hands to his hips and encouraged him to move faster over my cock.

“I’ll take you any way I can have you, Valen. Make me come again. I want to fill your ass just like you filled mine, and then we can cuddle together in a sweaty, tangled mess and enjoy the feeling of both having our holes worked nice and open.”

Valen groaned and moved faster. “Stars, but you’re a dirty-talking, sexy man. I’m so fucking lucky to have you,” he said mentally.

“I’m the lucky one,” I gasped as I thrust hard into Valen and then stilled as I pumped my seed into his ass.

Valen whined softly in his throat as he grabbed his cock and roughly yanked it a few times before he shot his load over my belly and chest. We both panted, and shivers of pleasure travelled through me. A soft, satisfied purr started up in Valen’s chest. He stretched out over me, covering my body with his bigger frame and rolled us over so that I sprawled on top of him. We both sighed regretfully when my cock slipped from his hole at his move. Valen stroked his hand over my hair, and I made happy, sub-sonic sounds of pleasure and contentment. I kissed Valen’s throat and grabbed his hand with mine, holding tightly to the one I loved.

*****

I blew out a soft breath and clutched Valen’s hand tightly in mine. I was nervous but determined to go through with this confrontation. It’d taken me nearly six months of going back and forth in my head to be sure I was not only ready to do this, but that it was something I needed to do for my own mental health. I’d also finally admitted to myself that I wanted some long overdue revenge for what I’d been through. That wasn’t a very pleasant thing to realize about myself, but Valen had said it made perfect sense to him. He was one hundred percent behind me on this, and I was grateful for his support.

Valen wasn’t overly happy about my actually seeing Isooba in person again, his need to see me safe from harm warring with my need to confront my sister. Rage at Isooba bubbled below the surface of his emotions and was truly frightful in its intensity. Isooba had no idea of the dangerous situation she was about to walk into. That made me smile a little, and my nerves settled.

I wanted her to see me, see how happy I was, how much I was loved and how badly her insane plan to destroy me had failed. In all honesty, I also wanted to shove in her face that I had all the things that I was sure she’d never have. I had a ceitai risdepa partner and a wonderful, loving life with him. I had a job that was important, highly respected and gave me purpose. Not only that, Valen and I had put our names in for parenting a Teichle baby shortly after becoming shu’anad partners and had recently been given the go-ahead to bring home a new addition to our family. We were on Laiok to pick up our child, and I couldn’t think of a better time to do what I needed to put my past to rest so I could start a new, joyful life.

I smirked the tiniest bit when I thought of Isooba’s reaction to the formal request for her presence that she’d been sent. She was probably confused as hell by the summons to attend a meeting with an Awh’anise ambassador. Most Laiokians had no idea about the details of the deal between our planets. To the Laiokian government, the average citizen didn’t need to know the finer points. All they’d need to know was that there was a deal in place that made money for Laiok, and the typical citizen was fine with that. After all, that’s why they had a government in place; to handle all those sorts of things so the general public didn’t need to worry about it.

To be specifically requested by an alien dignitary for a meeting usually meant something about that person’s work or skill set had been recognized and they were about to take a very large step up the career ladder. Confused or not, I knew Isooba would come as climbing to the top of one’s career was a huge driving force for all Laiokians. She probably thought that she was being considered for some prime research work with the government’s newest alien contact, a prestigious thing indeed.

Isooba was shown into the board room Valen and I were already occupying. I got immense satisfaction from seeing and feeling her shock and confusion when she spotted me. That didn’t last long, but I felt it and was pleased by it. Her face didn’t betray the hate and disgust she felt at seeing me alive, but her emotions were screaming those things at me. Oddly enough, it didn’t bother me in the least. The feelings of love, protection and possession coming from Valen towards me could easily drown out Isooba’s emotions.

“What’s he doing here?” Isooba asked in a cold voice as she glared at me before switching her gaze to Valen. Her tone was more polite when she spoke to Valen, but not by much. “Who are you? Where’s the ambassador I was to meet?”

My smirk widened into a smile. Seeing me alive and healthy really rattled Isooba. Her tone was borderline rude to Valen, and a Laiokian was never deliberately rude to someone, especially someone they’d just met. She was going to be aghast that she’d spoke so inappropriately to the person she was brought here to meet.

“I’m Ambassador Valen from Awh’an,” Valen said as he stood, urging me to stand beside him. 

It didn’t escape my notice that Valen stood a little in front of me, to protect me if Issoba tried anything on me. She wouldn’t because the odds didn’t favour her succeeding, and Laiokians rarely resorted to physical violence. Valen wasn’t taking any chances. Issoba’s skin and hair paled to light blue for a few seconds before settling back into the neutral shade of blue she’d first had when she entered the room. Her emotions radiated distress, but none of that was visible on her face.

“Giedre wanted to see you in person. Stars know why. But, what Giedre wants, Giedre gets if I can give it to him, so here we are. He said I had to warn you that if you try to attack him I’ll kill you, so consider yourself warned. It would absolutely make my day if you were to try something, as useless as that would be.”

Isooba stared for several seconds at Valen before her colour darkened a shade, and anger whipped through her. Disbelief and hate warred within her, and her perfectly polite mask slipped a little as she narrowed her eyes at us.

“This is ridiculous. I refuse to be party to whatever you’ve twisted this kid into believing. I’m reporting you to the authorities, Giedre. I have no idea how you managed to get out of the facility and meet this young boy, but our government won’t stand for this from a Teichle. They won’t let you put these crazy ideas in some poor child’s head. You’re going to pay dearly for whatever sick and twisted game you are trying to play,” Isooba said with malice in her voice and emotions.

“Valen is an ambassador for Awh’an despite his young age and has been for several years. He is also a Shal-hazal Litch, part of a special military branch, and exceedingly skilled at what he does. I work with him in his capacity as a Shal-hazal Litch and am invaluable to helping him do his job. He’s also my ceitai risdepa partner. We’ve been together for six years now, and he is not a young boy or a child. He is a full-grown man, and a better person that you could ever hope to be.

“I asked him to come here with me because I wanted you to know that you failed. You failed to kill me, you failed to break me, and you most certainly failed to take away my happiness. I want you to know that I have everything you’ll never have. I have the unconditional love of an amazing man. I have an incredibly important job that only I can do, and as part of that job, I’m husband to an ambassador for an entire world. I live in a home filled with joy and love, and we’re here on Laiok to pick up the most precious baby girl to raise as our own. All the things you wanted most in your life are mine, Isooba. Mine. And there’s nothing you can do to take any of that away from me.”

Isooba recoiled physically and emotionally. Disgust was plain on her face. “You’re even more hideous than I knew. I actually don’t know what’s worse. To sleep with a man or to be Teichle... I don’t know how you did it, whose emotions you twisted, but the government won’t let you take a baby from Laiok once they know you’re intimate with another man. They won’t let a lover of the same sex take a baby, and they most certainly won’t let a Teichle contaminate a helpless baby.”

“They know, and they gladly sanctioned this adoption. Talk to whomever you want, Isooba. It won’t matter one little bit,” I said, my emotions spiking with pleasure at the distress and helpless feelings I was causing her.

Valen looked Isooba up and down, and contempt was plain on his face. He was also pissed as hell at what she’d said to me, to us. I could clearly feel his want to do extreme violence to her, but he kept that in check. I was very proud of him for doing that when I could easily feel the emotions of the voices in his head urging him on to violence.

“Giedre is beautiful inside and out, something you’ll never be. He’s going to be an amazing father because he’s patient and fair and has an amazing amount of love to give. I’m lucky to have had him choose me to be his Litch. He’ll be mad at me for saying this because he says you people don’t discuss your bedroom business with others, but Giedre is hands down the best fuck I’ve ever had, and I’m not lying when I say I’ve been with probably a hundred people. Nobody has done my ass as good as he does, and when I get my cock into him, I swear it feels like heaven. It amazes me every day that someone as beautiful and special as he is, loves me. I will move heaven and earth and everything in between to make him happy and keep him safe because I love him more than my own life.

“I know what you did to him. He told me everything. I want to kill you right now so badly I can taste it. The only reason I’m not doing it is because Giedre made me promise I wouldn’t attack first. If he hadn’t made me promise I’d keep my violence to myself, I’d have gutted you with my claws the second you walked into the room for what you put him through,” Valen said as he showed a truly frightening amount of fang to Isooba and flexed his claws to their full extent. “You’d die a lot faster than I think you deserve, but you’d suffer for a little while at least, and Giedre would get to see that. I think he’d be satisfied that you’d been repaid partially for what you did to him.”

Isooba could see that Valen was dead serious, and her eyes widened in shock at the blatant threat. She turned a very unflattering shade of greenish-blue and took several steps back from Valen. Her hair clung to her, and I felt her emotions surge with fright when she bumped into the wall behind her. “You’re insane. Both of you,” she whispered.

“No, but several of the people living in my head are. They’ve been very helpful and probably a little too excited at helping me come up with some interesting ways to make you hurt and wish to die while I keep you from escaping that way. Gotta say I’m looking forward to getting started on ending your life,” Valen said with a grin that bordered on maniacal, anticipation heavy in his voice.

I could feel the madness creeping forward in him and regretfully smoothed the edges of that. I didn’t want Valen getting into trouble for killing Isooba in the next few minutes. I also wasn’t sure that I wanted to see him gut her despite what he’d said. Large amounts of blood still made me a little queasy and had me flashing back to my time with Isooba and her room of hellish torture.

“I came here to see you because I wanted you to know that despite what you did to me, the things that you said to me, none of it matters, none of it is true. I have everything I could ever want. I have everything you want. You will die gruesomely in the very near future, Isooba, I simply haven’t decided when to let Valen loose on you. I’ll never forget what you did to me, and I can’t forgive you either. Despite Valen saying I’m beautiful inside and out, I have the very ugly desire to see you feel helpless to stop what’s happening, to suffer and die alone and in excruciating pain. Unfortunately for you, the man I’m married to has an even greater desire for that than I do, and he has the means to do it. Enjoy your life, as short as it’ll probably be, Isooba.”

“I’ll report both of you. I’ll tell the government that you threatened me and that you have an ambassador under your control. You’ll be lucky to only go to jail if you do anything to me. I’ll see to that,” Isooba snapped as she clenched her fists tight, putting on a show of bravado that I didn’t need to be an empath to see was false.

“And I’ll tell them I have no idea what you’re talking about and that I’m sad you still feel such hate for me. I’ll say that I’d hoped to try and mend fences with you after what you did to me because I was at peace with my past now. I’ll say that I wanted to share in my happiness of my husband and new baby with the only family I have left. That I wanted to offer a possible treatment for Dumas by the Shal-hazal Healers that might be able to bring him out of his coma so we could all be a family once again. I’d say that I was confused and upset that you’d carry your hate for me to such a degree that you’d even sacrifice your twin to continue to try to punish me. Whose story do you think they’ll believe when I’m obviously supported by a loving spouse and have helped to bring the government of Laiok so much money through doing a job I was born to do? 

“The government is aware, in general, of what you did to me even though you were never punished for it. They know I can’t twist your emotions because we’re siblings. They’ll think you’re consumed with hate for me and want to continue to hurt me at best and stark-raving crazy at worst. Neither scenario works out well for you. Good relations with Awh’an and the money and resources they bring mean far more to our government than one spiteful chemist’s wild claims of threats of violent death.”

Isooba stared at me, a sudden spark of hope flaring to life in her eyes. I knew she’d leap at the thread of hope for Dumas’ recovery and ignore everything else. That was part of my plan to torment her to the fullest degree I was capable of. I was so going to enjoy this next part. I barely managed to keep the triumph off my face.

“These people, the Shal-hazal Healers, could bring Dumas back to me? Really?” Isooba looked so hopeful. Revenge would be sweet indeed.

“I asked them since they are able to achieve great things in the mind. I gave them the information about his case, and they said they’re fairly sure they could find where he’s gone in his mind and bring him back. The Shal-hazal understand exceedingly well how the brain works. So, yes, it’s highly likely they could bring Dumas back. They’re not going to though. I’ve already put in the formal request to deny any appeals for aid from you or ones tendered for Dumas by others. I’ve told them it’s a family matter, which it is, and if there’s one thing the Awh’anise greatly respect, it’s family. They also highly respect the need for revenge and what it is to want to avenge massive wrongs done. They won’t go against my wishes in this instance because it involves family, revenge and avenging your unprovoked maiming of me. I said I wanted you to suffer, Isooba. Know that your past actions against me have doomed Dumas to stay exactly as he is now. Unresponsive and only alive because machines make it possible.”

Isooba stared at me and tears slid down her cheeks. Her emotions were all over the place. Highs of curing Dumas clashing with lows of him never getting better all twisted around with intense rage and hatred of me. Perfect. I was probably an evil man for taking such pleasure in her tortured mental suffering.

“I’ve done what I wanted to do by seeing you today. I suggest you put your affairs in order, Isooba. I was absolutely serious when I said that you’ll die horribly in the near future. One final warning. If you do decide to be so foolish as to try and force the government into doing anything about this little conversation we had, know that you’ll be the one responsible for Dumas dying. Valen will be more than happy to pay a visit to Dumas, if I ask, and put his fist through our dear brother’s skull if you step out of line. Valen, if you wouldn’t mind showing Isooba how easy it would be for you to do that.”

Valen grinned, glanced around the room and walked the few steps necessary to reach a statue that was close to life-sized and looked to be made of some type of polished wood. He drew back his fist and punched the head of the statue. The head shattered, pieces of wood flying everywhere. Valen walked back to where I stood as if he hadn’t just turned a nearly life-size head into so many splinters. Isooba turned so pale a blue at Valen’s little power display she looked almost white. I put my hand on Valen’s arm and left the room with him without looking back at Isooba. I didn’t need to see her face to know what she was feeling. 

Sheer, unadulterated terror.

“Did that turn out the way you wanted it to, Giedre?” Valen asked as he clasped my hand in his.

“Yes, it did. Thank you, Valen,” I said as I brought his hand up to kiss his knuckles.

“Thanks for what? I didn’t really do anything. A little taunting, a bit of an aggressive display, a small show of power. Honestly, that was nothing.”

“You supported me.”

“Well, yeah. Of course I did. I love you. And you deserve getting revenge on her. You are going to let me kill her for you, right? You weren’t just saying that to screw with her were you?”

I chuckled softly. Valen was my champion in so many ways. “I thought I’d have you kill her, but after seeing her again and feeling all the hate she still has for me, I have to admit that I really like the idea of her suffering mentally for the rest of her days, afraid and impotent to do anything in retaliation. I’ll enjoy knowing she’s going to be on edge and nervous all the time. I’m really going to enjoy her living with the knowledge that Dumas could’ve been saved, but her past actions have doomed him. That’s going to torture the hell out of her.”

Valen looked a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to get to kill Isooba. I could understand that because he saw her as a threat to me, and in his mind, the best way to deal with a threat was to utterly eliminate it. That would work in most cases, but this one was a little different. Valen would respect my wishes because he loved me even if he didn’t fully understand my reasoning to let Isooba live.

“Can I still screw with her dreams? Make them constant nightmares or just filled with a sense of hopelessness and dread without ever knowing why they feel that way. Or maybe just torture her with sequences of how happy and perfect our life is compared to the crappy life she has. Come on, Giedre, you gotta let me do something fun to fuck with her head if you’re not going to let me actually kill her like she deserves.”

“Fine, you can torture her dreams but not every night. I don’t believe she deserves that much of our attention. Actually, the less either one of us thinks of her, the better. Now, let’s go get our wonderful little girl and go home so we can start spoiling her rotten. We need to figure out a name for her. While I know you love the character Eufrozina from that drama you obsessively watch and that the name means joy in Awh’anise, I absolutely refuse to name our child something that sounds very close to the word slimy-snot in Laiokian. Just no, Valen.”

Valen laughed, pulled me into a tight hug and leaned down to give me a kiss full of love and passion. I kissed him back and let our emotions of happiness and love twist together. I felt as if the last weight of Isooba’s actions had finally been lifted from my soul. Valen pulled back a little and cupped my face, whispering that I was beautiful. For the first time ever, I actually believed that.


End file.
